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Bicentenary Boy
A naked young man turns up in Haiti, claiming to have set sail from England with his parents… two centuries ago! For psychologist Dani Corby, it’s a straightforward case of Paranoid Disorder. But her professional judgement is challenged when, under hypnosis, his extraordinary tale comes to light; a vivid account of escape from his pirate captors into a terrifying world of myth and magic. The enigma deepens when a strange old woman hounds Dani with dire prophesies about her patient, and when the young man falls to a mysterious illness, she sets out on a dangerous, career-blowing mission to save his life.
343 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 10, 2018
1 person want to read
About the author
Mike Rothery
14 books11 followersI divide my time between working at my home in Elgin, cycling around the Highlands, and cruising the Atlantic/Caribbean islands in my yacht, Island Spirit. In past lives, I served twenty-five years in the Royal Navy and then another twenty as Director of a computer software company in the Midlands. Although I have written several novels since retirement, I consider To Run Before the Sea my first quality work. I am currently (Oct 2020) completing the sequel, The Travel Agent, to be released in December 2020. Several more Rosie Winterbourne stories will follow.
Bio: Mike Rothery was born in 1949, in Yorkshire, England, and lived his first ten years at various military bases in France, Germany and Northern Ireland. The family returned to Yorkshire when his father retired from the RAF in 1960. Mike joined the Royal Navy in 1965 and served in various ships until 1990, when he embarked on a new career in software development. Retiring in 2010 he returned to the sea where he began his writing career. He now cruises the oceans in his yacht, Island Spirit.
Bio: Mike Rothery was born in 1949, in Yorkshire, England, and lived his first ten years at various military bases in France, Germany and Northern Ireland. The family returned to Yorkshire when his father retired from the RAF in 1960. Mike joined the Royal Navy in 1965 and served in various ships until 1990, when he embarked on a new career in software development. Retiring in 2010 he returned to the sea where he began his writing career. He now cruises the oceans in his yacht, Island Spirit.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 31, 2019
Bicentenary Boy is the story of a young man who wakes up in the 1950s with memories of being alive in another time and another world but is stuck in a psychiatric ward where no one believes him.
Joey Horne was studying medicine in England and learning the societal niceties of life in 1754 when his parents took him out of school in order for them all to move to America. On the voyage there they are attacked by pirates and Joey is forced to become one after his parents are killed. Life aboard the ship is fraught with danger and cunning people and one day, in an attempt to evade another pirate ship, Joey and the rest of the crew sail through a strange fogbank and land up in a world beyond a world.
In the 1950s you have Dani, a psychologist, who has been tasked to debunk his claims but everywhere she has gone to look for evidence, has turned up clues to back his story up. What on earth and who is she supposed to believe?
The blurb sounded very intriguing and I was drawn to the idea of a past life or a time traveller, however, I found the story quite hard to follow and I didn’t really get into it. It starts off with a voodoo ritual/burial that goes wrong and the words used to recreate the language and accent were difficult at times to understand. Then we get sent to a section in the school in the UK as well as the story in the psychiatric ward and it becomes muddled as to how it all fits together. Suddenly we are on the pirate ship and the author has really gone into the accents used so instead of concentrating on the story I was now trying to decipher what they were trying to say. When they move into the new world there are a number of new animals, people and concepts introduced so a lot of new made-up words used which created even more confusion. This really detracted from any pleasure I would have gained from the story itself, but at least the editing is good with no major recurring mistakes.
The world beyond the world was an interesting supernatural spin on the tale, but to me, the ending and the explanation of why Joey was dying in this world was stretching it a bit. An interesting idea but a book I wouldn’t read again. This might appeal to those who specifically like books depicting pirate travels with a supernatural twist and while there was nothing wrong with the story, it just didn’t grab me enough.
Thank you to Voracious Readers Only and the author for a copy of the book.
Joey Horne was studying medicine in England and learning the societal niceties of life in 1754 when his parents took him out of school in order for them all to move to America. On the voyage there they are attacked by pirates and Joey is forced to become one after his parents are killed. Life aboard the ship is fraught with danger and cunning people and one day, in an attempt to evade another pirate ship, Joey and the rest of the crew sail through a strange fogbank and land up in a world beyond a world.
In the 1950s you have Dani, a psychologist, who has been tasked to debunk his claims but everywhere she has gone to look for evidence, has turned up clues to back his story up. What on earth and who is she supposed to believe?
The blurb sounded very intriguing and I was drawn to the idea of a past life or a time traveller, however, I found the story quite hard to follow and I didn’t really get into it. It starts off with a voodoo ritual/burial that goes wrong and the words used to recreate the language and accent were difficult at times to understand. Then we get sent to a section in the school in the UK as well as the story in the psychiatric ward and it becomes muddled as to how it all fits together. Suddenly we are on the pirate ship and the author has really gone into the accents used so instead of concentrating on the story I was now trying to decipher what they were trying to say. When they move into the new world there are a number of new animals, people and concepts introduced so a lot of new made-up words used which created even more confusion. This really detracted from any pleasure I would have gained from the story itself, but at least the editing is good with no major recurring mistakes.
The world beyond the world was an interesting supernatural spin on the tale, but to me, the ending and the explanation of why Joey was dying in this world was stretching it a bit. An interesting idea but a book I wouldn’t read again. This might appeal to those who specifically like books depicting pirate travels with a supernatural twist and while there was nothing wrong with the story, it just didn’t grab me enough.
Thank you to Voracious Readers Only and the author for a copy of the book.
March 9, 2019
I did receive a free copy of the book through Voracious Readers Only in exchange for a review.
From the description, I wasn't sure if I'd like this book. On the whole, the plot was excellent. The characters were delightful. The story flowed well from one section to the next.
I will admit that I was a little confused by the Underworld, and what rules and functions governed. It makes sense in the end, but the majority of the second part of the book, I was frustrated as I tried to learn the world.
As an American reader, I was a little concerned about the use of dialectical representation, because of its racial connotations. I was equally concerned about the use of period correct terms regarding race- given current events, it may not be well received by American readers. I was also surprised by how Dani was treated as a professional woman. Never have I, as a woman, had a male supervisor or colleague listen to me the way her male colleagues did. It seems deeply unrealistic to me, and I kept waiting for them to repeat back her claims or ideas as if they were original to the man.
On the whole, good book! I deeply enjoyed reading it! I do have to wonder if there will be a sequel about Dani and her new life, though.
From the description, I wasn't sure if I'd like this book. On the whole, the plot was excellent. The characters were delightful. The story flowed well from one section to the next.
I will admit that I was a little confused by the Underworld, and what rules and functions governed. It makes sense in the end, but the majority of the second part of the book, I was frustrated as I tried to learn the world.
As an American reader, I was a little concerned about the use of dialectical representation, because of its racial connotations. I was equally concerned about the use of period correct terms regarding race- given current events, it may not be well received by American readers. I was also surprised by how Dani was treated as a professional woman. Never have I, as a woman, had a male supervisor or colleague listen to me the way her male colleagues did. It seems deeply unrealistic to me, and I kept waiting for them to repeat back her claims or ideas as if they were original to the man.
On the whole, good book! I deeply enjoyed reading it! I do have to wonder if there will be a sequel about Dani and her new life, though.
May 6, 2019
I received a free copy of Bicentenary Boy from Voracious Readers Only for an honest review.
I have to say I did get a little confused at the beginning when it did jump back and forth to the different years but it is definitely a book i would recommend you just keep going on. The storyline was brilliant, I loved how every detail was described. Granted I was slightly confused with some of the words used whilst on the boat but everything else was perfect.
I fell in love with the characters, Joey especially. They were brilliantly thought out and I really would love to read more on them, hopefully Dani will get her story for her new adventures and we can find out what's happened with others in it.
This is a book i could read over and over again without getting bored also one I will be recommending to friends who I know will enjoy it just as much.
I have to say I did get a little confused at the beginning when it did jump back and forth to the different years but it is definitely a book i would recommend you just keep going on. The storyline was brilliant, I loved how every detail was described. Granted I was slightly confused with some of the words used whilst on the boat but everything else was perfect.
I fell in love with the characters, Joey especially. They were brilliantly thought out and I really would love to read more on them, hopefully Dani will get her story for her new adventures and we can find out what's happened with others in it.
This is a book i could read over and over again without getting bored also one I will be recommending to friends who I know will enjoy it just as much.
March 15, 2019
What a great read , loved the book, the narrative was pacy and descriptive, can see this as a movie.
The only downside I found was keeping up with some of the characters and their need to be included in the story but perseverance is the key and all will be revealed .
This isn’t a quick read but well worth it .
The only downside I found was keeping up with some of the characters and their need to be included in the story but perseverance is the key and all will be revealed .
This isn’t a quick read but well worth it .
March 26, 2019
I received a Complimentary copy of this book from Voracious Readers Only.
This book was very detailed.
I felt as though I was a part of this book and not just reading this book.
The characters have Great dialogues.
This book was very detailed.
I felt as though I was a part of this book and not just reading this book.
The characters have Great dialogues.
May 20, 2019
I received this book to review from Voracious Readers Only. It is a very involved story jumping from the past and the present. At times the story took some rereading and thought to understand. Overall the book was enjoyable with a very interesting cast of characters.
April 27, 2019
I received a free copy of this book through Voracious Readers and while it was very well written...it was not the book for me. I feel it would be more suited to teenage readers as opposed to adults.
May 19, 2019
Excellent!! I could not put it down!
October 4, 2019
I was gifted this as an ebook through the Vorachious Readers website. This author has a brilliant imagination. You will be captivated and absorbed by this book as I was.
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April 3, 2019Great characters, love the twists and turns of the story. Liked the hook at the end and can't wait for the next in the series. Keep up the good work!
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April 27, 2019I received a frre copy of "Bicentenary Boy" from Voracious Readers Only. If I had to try to descibe the plot of this book without any spoilers, I would say that this is Treaure Island with a supernatural twist. The character development made me care about what happened to them. Mike Rothery did not bore me with too in-depth descriptions. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys action/adventure with a supernatural twist.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews